September bedding in hill country

[Wild public]

Hello I’m new to the hunting beast. Got interested in this site after watching YouTube videos last spring. The whole hunting bedding areas fascinated me ,,I’ve devoured everything I can online and the dvds. Decided I was going to give this a try,,went out the other day and found 3 good bedding areas ..I hunt hill country public land. The bedding I found was on thick points very deep into the public land..at least 2 good bucks have been bedding on these points,,so I’m excited about hunting then next season,,but my question is should I hunt these beds in early September when our season opens or wait for the pressure to push them back to these points. It doesn’t get a lot of pressure until October,,I want to hunt theses spots in September when there more active in daylight but don’t want to burn them before the good deer are there. Or will they be there in September,,I’m a newbie so any advice would be appreciated. Thx

[PK_]

Welcome.

It’s tough for anyone to tell you for sure. Usually in a situation like that you want to hunt it once early, once during rut and once late season and see when the deer are there either by encounter or fresh sign.

Another option is if there are rubs a few hundred yards from the beds those rubs will open up once the bucks are using them and shed velvet. So you can check the rubline away from the bed consistently and when the rubs open up go hunt the bed...

Good luck.

[Wild public]

Thx,,sounds like good advice. The deer density is low here and I don’t find rubs hardly at all until near the rut. But that will be something I will watch for

[<DK>]

Welcome Wild Public

I agree w PK's great advice. A big part of me believes to get onto Sept bucks consistently, some type of confirmation is needed. Every state's season start date will vary and regional locations can change what others see. For my state, its Sept 15. Mature bucks have shed velvet already and the first 7-10 days is a great time to setup on summer bedding locations. Jumping them in summer has worked out well for me bc they just seem to be slightly more tolerant of the intrusion. The other half of confirming is glassing or tracking. Both are highly effective and for me tracking has become its own separate addiction.

The #1 thing to remember is some of the best buck bedding areas are going to hold deer all year. If you're hunting hill country only, there are few things which im learning to focus more on. The main one is locations closer to water. Whether it be to get a drink quickly, cooler temps or both. They can bed at lower elevations or closer to access than off season intel reveals. The other is acorns... this (along w velvet shed) is generally when people see the patterns shift or less deer. For early season, locate the best patches on the tops and close to bedding bc they'll drop sooner than the bottoms. So they be in the same general areas but could be in odd places until leave drop/pressure hits.

Be prepared to get nasty out there if you're planning Sept HC hunts. It can be overwhelming and brutal at times but we have to get in those good spots. Early season is one of the best times to bed hunt a buck. With all the thick foliage, animals making sounds and lack of pressure - we can get away with a LOT! Plus they are not driven by rut related activities, its just tough to get to the best areas when its 80+ degrees. Thermals early season can be squirrely or more intense. Bugs are horrible and our cloths are soaked just locking up the truck leaving for the stand. The best investment iv made is bug skinz from cabelas. Its very light material and does the job.

Here are a few threads about the subject:

*Focusing On Opening Week - viewtopic.php?f=3&t=28785

*Weather Tendencies - viewtopic.php?f=3&t=37262

*Early Season GPS Study - viewtopic.php?f=3&t=41104

[Wild public]

Thank you for all the advice,,one of the spots I’ve found has some water at bottom of point..and I think glassing will be nearly impossible where these locations are but I do think I may know where I could check for tracks near the bedding area without being too intrusive,,and without a doubt it will be sweaty and nasty getting to these spots..I’m sure this will be a learning experience starting out,,I feel like I’m pretty proficient at locating good secluded funnels but this bed hunting is a new game for me but excited to give it a try,,,I was impressed that the bedding was exactly where it was supposed to be,,,this predictability is a game changer in my mind. Wish I understood this years ago,,,

[E72]

Great advice Pk and Dk54. ....Also agree with bucks bedding in low elevation thick swampy drainage areas when the temps are up .

[ghoasthunter]

I find them in pines on shade side of mountains in ledges most of my winds that time of year are south. but my swamps are full of bugs and bears also. I target beds with white oaks and chestnut oaks above them they normally walk the ledges a bit then cut up that's where I hit them.